January 15 in Tigers and mlb history:
1934 - New York Yankees slugger Babe Ruth signs a one-year contract worth $35,000. While the contract is considered a lucrative one for the times, it represents a pay cut of $17,000 for "The Babe".
1936: IRS figures for 1934 show Branch Rickey as the highest-paid man in Major League Baseball at $49,470. Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis had voluntarily taken a cut in 1933 from $65,000 to $40,000 because of the Depression.
1942: US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt sends his famed "Green Light Letter" to Commissioner Judge Landis, encouraging Major League Baseball to continue playing during World War II. President Roosevelt states that he believes playing the sport would be good for Americans and encourages the owners to have more games at night to give war workers an opportunity to attend games. Despite a loss of many star players to military service, all 16 teams will continue to play regular schedules for the duration of the war.
Ironically, the Chicago Cubs, who had signed an agreement with a contractor to install lights at Wrigley Field, drop their plans because of the military's need for the material. It will take 35 more years before lights are finally installed at the venerable ballpark.
1958 - The New York Yankees announce that 140 games will be televised this season. The deal is worth over one million dollars. Six days later, the Philadelphia Phillies agree to televise 78 games into the New York City area, which is without National League baseball for the first time since the league's inception in 1876.
1964: Major League Baseball executives vote to hold a free agent draft in New York City.
A new TV pact is also signed. San Francisco Giants outfielder Willie Mays, the highest-paid player in major league baseball, signs for $105,000.
1990 - Central League star Cecil Fielder signs a contract with the Detroit Tigers. Fielder, who had blasted 38 home runs for the Hanshin Tigers in 1989, will hit 51 home runs this season and become one of the premier power hitters in the American League for most of the 1990s.
2015: At the last owners meeting chaired by outgoing Commissioner Bud Selig, owners decide to use a pitch clock during minor league games at the AA and AAA level this season in an experiment to quicken the pace of games.
Tigers players birthdays:
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Grover_Lowdermilk
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lowdegr01.shtml?redir
Grover Lowdermilk 1915-1916.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Steve_Gromek
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/gromest01.shtml?redir
Steve Gromek 1953-1957.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Mike_Marshall_(marshmi01)
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/marshmi01.shtml?redir
Mike Marshall 1967.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/a/alvarlu01.shtml
Luis Alvardo 1977.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/cappuge01.shtml
George Cappuzzello 1981.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Armando_Galarraga
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/galarar01.shtml?redir
Armando Galarraga 2008-2010.
from Baseball Reference
